Last Name
by uthinkuknow
Summary: A wild night in Vegas tangles the lives of two complete strangers. AU/AH
1. Last Name

Title: Last Name

Summary: A wild night in Vegas tangles the lives of two complete strangers. AU/AH

Rating: M

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight, although I wouldn't mind owning Edward and the rest of the Cullen boys ;).

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**Last Name**

_Last night I got served a little bit too much of that poison baby_

_Last night I did things I'm not proud of_

_And I got a little crazy_

_Last night I met a guy on the dance floor_

_And I let him call me baby_

_And I don't even know his last name_

_Oh, my mama would be so ashamed_

_It started off "Hey cutie, where ya from?"_

_And then it turned in, _

_"Oh no, what have I done?"_

_And I don't even know his last name_

_Today I woke up thinkin' about Elvis somewhere in Vegas_

_I'm not sure how I got here_

_Or how this ring on my left hand just appeared out of nowhere_

_I gotta go_

_I take the chips and the Pinto and hit the road_

_They say what happens here stays here_

_All of this will disappear_

_There's just one little problem..._

_I don't even know my last name…_

_-_"Last Name" by Carrie Underwood

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_Loud music blared from the numerous speakers all around the club, and reverberated off of every hard surface. A brown haired girl in barely there clothing and too high heels stumbled up to the bar, slightly disoriented from the loud noises, flashing lights, and alcohol coursing through her system. She couldn't remember how many drinks she had already consumed, or where her friends had wandered off too, but what she did know is that she felt amazing, and most importantly that it was due to the tasty beverages served by the nice people behind the bar. Tossing back yet another shot, she coughed slightly at the burning at the back of her throat, but noted with satisfaction that it didn't nearly seem to bother her as much as before. At least, as far as she could remember. Ordering another drink she turned around, leaning against the bar for support as her brown eyes wandered across the numerous bodies packed inside the club. Nothing in particular seemed to grab her interest; after all watching people grind up against each other is not nearly as interesting as actually participating. After a few moments of her aimless people watching, the girl couldn't help but shake the paranoid feeling that she was being watched that suddenly washed over her. Turning slowly to her left, her gaze was trapped in a pair of brilliant green eyes; brilliant green eyes that were locked intently on her. A small smile played across his lips as he started to move closer, his piercing stare never wavering from her…_

The first thought that crossed Bella's mind the next morning was along the lines of the normal wishing for death that accompanies one when they wake up with a nasty hangover. Her second thought was one of complete shock when she finally pried her eyes open and they landed on a strange man tangled up in the sheets next to her. This was a very fleeting thought, because only a second later her brain registered the fact that she was going to be sick and she bolted to the bathroom. It was only after she had completely emptied the contents of her stomach and was searching for her toothbrush that she realized she was not in the bathroom of her hotel suite. She wasn't even sure she was in the same hotel.

_What the hell happened last night? _Bella silently questioned, rubbing her temples trying to make the pounding in her head stop. A loud groan from the next room immediately sent a rush of nervousness coursing through her small frame as she remembered the strange man in her bed. _Actually, I guess it's his bed_. Bella thought wryly to herself, taking a deep breath and tiptoeing out of the bathroom. She prayed desperately that he was still asleep and planned on grabbing all of her things and running, and was delighted that things were looking up slightly when she found him still asleep. Bella took a moment to observe him, and was slightly alleviated by the fact that at least if she had a drunken hookup it was with what appeared to be a pretty attractive man. She licked her lips unconsciously as her eyes traveled up his delicious looking abs and across his toned chest. She was slightly disappointed that she couldn't see his face, because his left arm was strewn across it. Bella was about to being gathering all of her belongings, when he shifted slightly and a small flash of light distracted her.

_Shit! He's married! _Bella panicked as her eyes locked on to the gold band on his left ring finger, glinting softly in the morning sunlight. _I can't believe I hooked up with a married man! I am so stupid!_ She mentally berated herself as she frantically began searching around the room for all of her stuff. She couldn't believe she had let things get so out of hand the night before. Not only was it completely out of character for her to get entirely wasted and not remember the events of the previous night, it was even more shocking that she had hooked up with some strange guy. She briefly wondered why her friends didn't stop her, but it didn't take more than a moments' contemplation for her to push that thought aside. They were after all, not very good friends.

Bella had managed to gather all of her belongings and was just searching for her second shoe when the shrill ringing of a phone made her freeze in her tracks. It took her only a moment to recover from her shock before her hand whipped out to snatch her cell off the bedside table and silence the call, but waking up the stranger was now the farthest thing from her mind because there on the third finger on her left hand was a small gold wedding band. She stared down at her finger in complete shock, completely oblivious to anything else. She didn't notice the stranger's loud groan as he slowly drifted back into consciousness. She didn't notice when he finally sat up and gazed confusedly around the room, or when his eyes rested on her. Bella didn't notice when she heard him asking her if she was all right, but she did seem to finally snap out of it when he walked over and placed a hand on her shoulder and shook her gently. Her eyes snapped up to meet his, before drifting back down to her left hand, and then her eyes rolled back into her head and the last thoughts that crossed her mind before everything went black was: _I don't even know his name! Or my name! I don't know my last name!_

Edward stood there stunned for a moment as he stared down at the brunette who had just fainted into his arms, before he quickly scooped her up and laid her down on the bed. Having a drunken hookup was nothing new to Edward. In fact, one-night stands were his forte at the moment, so he wasn't surprised to find a girl in the room when he woke. He was surprised, however, by her fainting spell. Nothing like that had ever happened before. Normally he woke up alone, his latest conquest too embarrassed to stay, or on the occasions when he was the first to rise, he would usually nosily hop in the shower and his 'date' would be gone before he was finished. This was a new situation entirely.

Brushing her hair off of her face, he was momentarily struck by her beauty and the softness of her skin underneath his fingers, but before he could admire her any longer he was interrupted by a pounding on his door. His hands immediately flew to his head, the loud banging doing nothing to help his hangover. Cursing under his breath, Edward stomped over to the door, ready to wring the neck of whichever of his friends or siblings decided to make such a racket.

"What?" Edward growled as he opened the door, not in the mood for whatever the knocker wanted. He was slightly surprised when his eyes landed on the tiny frame of his sister; he had expected it to be his older brother or best friend by the forcefulness of the pounding. Then again he had been on the receiving end of his sister's slaps and punches many times so he supposed he really shouldn't be all that surprised that someone so tiny could make that much noise.

"Is it true?" Alice hissed, glaring up at her older brother, anger and annoyance evident on her features.

"Is what true? I really am not in the mood for twenty questions right now Alice, so how about you tell me exactly why you are here instead of asking obscure questions." He bit back sharply; barely caring that he wasn't being very pleasant to his younger sister. As petulant as it may be, she had verbally attacked him first.

"Did you get married last night?" Edward snorted and immediately had to bite back a laugh. Alice's accusation was utterly absurd. Of course he didn't get married. He wasn't that stupid and he didn't even believe in marriage. How could his crazy little sister even get such and idea in her head?

"You think this is funny don't you? I don't think its very funny to get woken up very early in the morning when my boyfriend gets called numerous times by reporters looking for the inside scoop on his star client's surprise marriage. Edward, what were you thinking?"

"Alice, I didn't get married! I think I would remember something as big as getting married wouldn't I?" He retorted, getting annoyed. _Honestly how does she come up with these stories?_ Edward thought to himself, massaging his temples. His conversation with Alice wasn't doing much for his headache.

"You say you didn't married," Alice stated in a tone he didn't quite recognize.

"Yes! For the last time Alice I didn't get married!" He exclaimed exasperatedly, bringing his gaze to match his sister's.

"Then why do you have a ring on a certain finger of your left hand?"

"I don't have a ri-" Edward froze as he brought his left hand up in front of his face. There on his left ring finger was a simple gold ring that couldn't be anything other than a wedding band. He felt the blood drain from his face and his eyes flashed behind him towards the bedroom. Alice watched as realization dawned over him, and began to worry when he looked far paler than normal.

"What happened last night?" She question gently, her earlier anger and annoyance momentarily replaced with concern for her brother's well being.

"I have no idea," Edward responded softly, his eyes drifting back over to halfway open bedroom door. He couldn't believe what was happening. How could he have gotten married without remembering it? Was he really _that _drunk last night?

"Is she still here?" Alice questioned, her eyes following his.

"Yeah, she is," he said with a sigh, "I woke up and she kind of fainted." Alice couldn't help but start laughing at that.

"Wow, I guess you really are that scary in the morning," she teased, all of her earlier anger completely gone. Her brother had done many stupid things over the years so a drunken Vegas wedding didn't really surprise her. Although, all the damage control with the media was going to be a nightmare and she knew Jasper wouldn't be getting much sleep for the next week or so. At least this was the first time her brother had done something that could be considered scandalous. She almost rolled her eyes at that thought. Only in the spotlight could excessive partying and womanizing be considered normal behavior for someone with Edward's star status.

Edward simply glared at her before turning his attention back towards the bedroom contemplating the best way to handle this situation. The first order of business would be to see if she could shed any light on the current situation. Of course that would involve her being conscious and Edward began to panic slightly. He had no idea what to do with people when they fainted! Sure his father was a doctor, but its not like Edward ever saw someone faint before, and he really didn't feel like calling his father for advice on how to handle the situation. Asking him what to do when someone fainted would just open up the conversation for a lot of questions he didn't feel like answering at the moment. Luckily, Alice noticed the look of panic that crossed his face and decided to take charge of the situation.

"I'm going to go get Jasper and Emmett and bring them back here so we can plan how to handle this. I want you to wake her up and start figuring out what happened last night and who she is."

"Can't I go get them and you talk to her?" He asked hopefully, fully dreading the task she had appointed him.

"I'm not going to break the news to her, Edward, that is your job. Oh, and you better be nice to her or else!" With a final warning glare at her brother, Alice spun on her heel and marched out of his suite slamming the door shut behind her as if to emphasize her threat. Edward sighed loudly as he turned and headed back into the bedroom. Nerves immediately washed over him with each step he took; he really had no idea what he was supposed to do in this sort of situation. Was he just supposed to wake her up and just tell her? 'Hi, we don't know each other but we got married last night. Oh and to make things more complicated I'm an internationally famous singer and by now most of the world probably knows.' Even in his head it sounded completely surreal, and a wave of pity for the poor girl washed over him. That stopped him in his tracks. _What the hell? _Was the prominent thought racing through his mind. He didn't pity girls. He didn't feel anything for them. He simply used them to satisfy his needs as a man and that was it. He didn't get attached and he definitely never felt sorry for the way he treated women. He was an ass and he didn't care, so there was no way he should be feeling anything but anger towards this girl. It was probably her idea after all for them to get married, because it most certainly wasn't his!

With newfound determination, Edward stalked into the room, ready to get this over with and get back to his life. His resolve waivered slightly as he pushed through the door and his eyes met a pair of wide brown eyes staring cautiously back at him. All thoughts completely left his head as he found himself getting trapped in her gaze and unfamiliar feelings was over him. She broke the silence first.

"I'm Bella. Bella Swan." Bella said for lack of anything better to say, but she figured she should speak instead of ogle the handsome stranger all day.

"Edward. Edward Cullen," he responded in a smooth, velvety voice. _Edward Cullen, Edward Cullen. Why did that name sound so familiar?_ Bella thought for a few moments before it dawned on her. Edward watched as recognition spread across her delicate features, before her eyes accusingly met his.

"The singer?"

"Yeah," Edward responded lamely, not really sure what to say but slightly relieved that she at least knew who he was. It would prevent a lot of unnecessary questions that could have arisen if she had no idea about his star status.

"This is just great," Bella mumbled under her breath, clearly annoyed.

"Excuse me?" Edward questioned slightly confused, not quite sure where her tone was coming from.

"Well not only do I wake up in a strange room with a strange guy with no recollection of how I got there or who the guy is, I also discover that I am married and it turns out to be to an egotistical, womanizing singer! This is a complete nightmare" She spat out, disgust clearly evident in her voice. Obviously she knew of his reputation. Her words, while fairly accurate, only made Edward's anger and frustration with the situation come to the surface.

"Well excuse me! It's not like I planned this! Do you honestly think I want to be married? Especially to someone who can't hold their alcohol and is acting like a self-righteous bitch! I didn't do this on my own you know! And I think you would be lucky to marry someone with my status so how do I know this just wasn't your plan all along?" Bella's mouth dropped slightly in shock at his sudden change in demeanor, her anger bubbling up even more. She had only known him for five minutes and she already hated him! _I must have been completely smashed last night if I ended up married to this arrogant pig!_ But before he could really give him a piece of her mind she was interrupted by the sound of someone clearing their throat.

Whirling around, Bella was greeted by the sight of two men and two women casually standing in the doorway, their expression ranging from amusement to annoyance to boredom.

"Well as amusing as round two would be, we all have things that need to be discussed so if the two of you could come out into the sitting room that would be best," Alice commented dryly, clearly not pleased with the yelling match. Bella simply nodded and followed them out the bedroom door, throwing one last glare at a still seething Edward.

"I'm Alice by the way, Edward's sister, and this is Jasper Whitlock, Edward's best friend and publicist, Edward's brother Emmett, his manager, and Emmett's girlfriend Rosalie Hale," Alice gestured to each person in the room, making the introductions for Bella's benefit.

"Bella," she responded quietly, not quite sure why all these people had to be here. She began to fidget nervously in her seat as four pairs of eyes were staring at her intently. Finally the tall, leonine mane Alice had identified as Jasper spoke.

"Do you remember what happened last night, Bella?" He questioned softly, the tone of his voice calming her nerves slightly.

"I remember going out club hopping with my friends and drinking…a lot. I think we were at our third club of the night when I lost track of them and that is where everything gets fuzzy. I don't normally drink that much so this blacking out thing is new to me." Edward scoffed at her last statement, but before Bella could do more then throw a dirty look in his direction Alice had smacked him upside the head with a glare of her own. Bella smiled slightly at Alice who smiled back even wider before everyone refocused their attention on Jasper's latest question.

"Do you remember anything else?"

"Not really," Bella responded dejectedly, fixing her eyes on the floor to avoid catching the gaze of the other occupants. Jasper sighed softly, whether in anger, frustration, or annoyance, Bella couldn't tell, and he directed his next question to Edward.

"What do you remember?"

"I remember having some drinks backstage with some of the VIP guests, before being dragged off to a club by the lot of you, where I had some more drinks. I danced with a couple of girls who threw themselves at me, and the last thing I clearly remember was talking to some chick at the bar." Bella's eyes snapped up to meet Edward's sparkling green ones at his last statement, and after a moment of staring into her eyes something clicked.

"You were watching me!" She accused, pointing a finger at Edward.

"What?" Edward responded incredulously.

"At the bar! I was waiting for a drink and I noticed you staring at me! And then you came over and started talking to me!"

"Wow, way to come off a little stalkerish bro," Emmett injected with a laugh, which was quickly silenced by a glare from Edward.

"Ok, well now that we know how you two met, we need to figure out how you ended up married. Any ideas?" Jasper questioned, peering between the two who were looking anywhere but at each other, their earlier spat in the bedroom obviously not forgotten.

"I remember asking her to dance, and doing that for a bit," Edward supplied, frustration with the situation evident in his tone.

"I hate dancing," Bella grumbled under her breath, wracking her brain desperately trying to remember when she agreed to dance with him, let alone marry him.

"Well obviously not since I remember you coming willingly," he shot back, causing Bella's heated gaze to meet his again. Bella felt slightly unnerved as she gazed into his emerald eyes, and found herself having trouble with coherency. His eyes seemed to bore into her, past all her walls and pretenses, and straight into her soul. It was unnerving because no one had ever looked at her with such intensity before, even it was intense anger, and no one had ever made her feel like she was feeling in that moment. The intense feelings coursing through her body were new for Bella, and she couldn't place a name to them. Something at the back of her mind clicked in place and she gasped.

"You made me dance with you!" She exclaimed, continuing before Edward could refute her claim. "You, you…dazzled me!" She finished with a huff, crossing her arms in front of her and sinking down into the armchair. She knew her actions were a bit childish, but it the previous night's events were any indication, neither of them had been acting very grown up lately.

Everyone in the room burst out into laughter and Bella felt the ever-familiar heat of a blush rush up her neck and spread across her pale face.

"Bella it is hardly my fault is I _dazzle_ you. But don't feel bad, it seems to be the effect I have on most women," Edward smirked smugly at her, reminiscing about how easily women fell for his charm and good looks.

"Pig!"

"Jerk!"

"Ass!" Bella, Alice, and Rosalie all exclaimed at the same time, throwing disgusted looks in Edward's direction. Edward cowered slightly in his seat as he took in the venomous glares of three pissed off women._ Probably not the best thing to say around them,_ he mused silently to himself, deciding that the best course of action would be to stay as silent as possible until this whole ordeal was over.

Bella meanwhile was sitting silently, eyebrows scrunched in concentration as she grasped for any other details of the previous night that had formerly eluded her.

"We started playing a game," Edward stated in a hollow voice, his mind seemingly hundreds of miles away. His statement triggered something in Bella's memory, and once again a gasp escaped her lips.

"You said I seemed uptight and you bet I had never done anything truly wild in my life," Bella responded in the same far-away voice as her eyes glazed over slightly as she became immersed in the memory. The room grew deathly silent as the other occupants listened intently to the story as it unfurled, barely daring to breath for fear that even the slightest sound could make the elusive memory slip back into the dark recesses of their minds.

"You got pissed at me so I dared you to kiss the next guy you saw. You grabbed the nearest guy next to you and did just that."

"Then I dared you to do a double shot of Jager." Everyone looked slightly disgusted after Bella's statement. While most in the group were fond of Jager bombs, straight Jager was disgusting.

"And after that _delightful_," Edward continued with sarcasm, "stunt I dared you to climb up on one of the tables and dance."

They continued going back and forth, rehashing the obscene amount of things they had dared each other to do, most of them involving taking certain kinds of shots or chugging disgusting concoctions. It was easy to see how they had both gotten so wasted.

"And then," Bella froze, her eyes turning to stare at Edward accusingly.

"I dared you to marry me," he finished softly, his eyes on the floor. So it was his stupid idea to get married, and that made him confused as ever. He had shied away from any kind of committed relationship for years now, and the thought of marriage hadn't crossed his mind in just as long. But why now? Why did he suddenly decide in his drunken state to dare a girl to marry him? He had always prided himself for being creative, and sure the alcohol has definitely impaired his judgment, but his creativity hadn't seemed to vanish over the course of the dares. What could have possibly compelled him to come up with such a dare? Before he could dwell on it any longer, Jasper intruded on his thoughts.

"Ok well now that we know what happened, we need to plan the best course of action. Bella I'm sure your friends are worried about you and that you would want to shower and change. I'm going to make a few calls to the label and to our lawyer to help figure out what options we have so how about we meet back here in about an hour." Bella nodded mutely and quickly gathered up her things; desperate for some alone time to process everything that had happened. Before another word could be spoken she was out the door, and the others slowly followed, leaving Edward to gather his thoughts and get ready for the day.

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A little over an hour later, everyone had reassembled in Edward's suite. Bella sat nervously in her chair as Jasper wrapped up a conversation over in the far corner of the room. The expression on his face as he snapped his phone shut did little to alleviate the growing tension in the room. Turning to face the group, he was silent for a few moments seemingly contemplating the best way to phrase whatever news he had received.

"That was the lawyer," he stated, explaining the phone call, "and it looks like we no longer have to worry about how a drunken Vegas wedding and hasty annulment will affect you reputation, Edward."

"What exactly do you mean by that?" Edward questioned, completely confused.

"According to a recently passed law you marriage cannot be annulled based on the grounds of a drunken mistake. Unless sufficient evidence can be presented that proves the marriage void, you have to remain married for at least 60 days before an annulment can be granted." Jasper braced himself for the explosion he was sure would follow his explanation.

"What?" Bella and Edward exclaimed at the same time, shock and anger waging a war as the predominant emotion on each of their faces.

"You mean we have to _stay married?_" Edward seethed, clenching his fists tightly together to prevent himself from hitting something.

"Yes," Jasper answered him calmly, "for the next 60 days you have to be Mr. and Mrs. Edward Cullen."

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A/N: Hello my lovelies! So what do you think? Yay? Nay? I want all of your opinions and whether or not I should continue this story. I got this idea when I was going for a run the other day. I put my ipod on shuffle and "Last Name" came on and I started thinking that a drunken Vegas wedding for Edward and Bella would be very amusing and before I knew all these ideas started running rampant in my mind. And to make matters more interesting (for me at least) the next two songs that came on played perfectly in the direction that my mental outline was going so I figured I could use the songs as an underlying theme for each chapter. So basically what I am going to do is put my ipod/itunes on shuffle and whatever song pops up first is going to be my inspiration for that chapter. Don't worry, I have a solid idea of how this story is going to play out, but I figured I could use the songs as inspiration to keep myself from rushing to the conclusion. Also, I know this chapter was pretty heavy on dialogue and didn't delve to deeply into any underlying emotions and what not but I didn't want this chapter to go on forever and cutting it short anywhere else just didn't feel right.

So now, after that incredibly long note, please click that pretty little button below and tell me yay, or nay, or if I should continue this story, or you could even tell me how much you would love to be Mrs. Edward Cullen. I know I would! ;)


	2. California

Title: Last Name

Summary: A wild night in Vegas tangles the lives of two complete strangers. AU/AH

Rating: M

Beta: none, mistakes are my own…although if someone would like to be my beta I would love you forever :)

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight, although I wouldn't mind owning Edward and the rest of the Cullen boys ;)

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**California**

_California here we come_

_Right back where we started from_

-"California" by Phantom Planet

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Bella was in a daze as she slowly walked back to her room. Luckily, she and Edward were staying in the same hotel so she could allow herself to be distracted, but the differences between their two rooms seemed to be as big as the differences between the two of them. Bella had always liked music, and she knew what she enjoyed, but she wasn't an avid listener, and the lives of the singers themselves never interested her in the way they did her friends. Most of the time if someone asked what the name of a particular song was or who it was by Bella would not be able to identify it correctly, and the only reason she even knew who Edward Cullen was, and all about his reputation, is due to the fact that her friend and former college roommate Jessica Stanley was absolutely in love with him. _She is going to flip when she finds out_ Bella thought wryly to herself, not at all prepared to deal with her friends.

When she had come back to her room earlier in the morning to shower, change, and compose herself, a message had been left saying that her friends were starving and were off to breakfast with some guys they had met the previous night. The name of the restaurant was given and her friends encouraged her to come by once she was awake and functional. Despite what she had to go back and face, Bella was actually glad for the excuse to avoid breakfast with her friends and whatever guys they had met the previous night; Jessica and Lauren weren't known for their taste in men.

Her thoughts turned to her friends and how her life was about to become very hectic for the next two months as she let herself into her room. Explaining herself was going to be hard enough. Explaining that not only was she now married but also that it was too an internationally famous singer was going to be even worse. At least if Jessica and Lauren were as big of fans as they said they were, then the fact that they could possibly meet Edward should soften the blow of revealing her stupidity, shouldn't it? Then again Bella honestly did not know what to think; her whole life had been turned upside down. Her friends had always had the most interesting reactions to things so she knew no matter how much she prepared herself for their reactions she was going to be surprised.

Heading into the bathroom to take a few more painkillers for the headache that still hadn't gone away, Bella's thoughts drifted to the man who she now shared a life with; at least on paper for the next sixty days. Edward was absolutely infuriating! He was as arrogant and as much of a jerk as he was attractive, and boy was he something to look at. _With that bronze hair perfectly disheveled from sleep, his perfectly sculpted face with those piercing green eyes that sent waves of unfamiliar feelings coursing through me, and that body with those delicious abs that I just_- Bella violently shook her head, trying to rid herself of those thoughts. She couldn't be thinking of him like that! She hated him! It didn't matter how much he resembled a Greek god, she couldn't go around thinking of him like that. It would only lead to things she would probably end up regretting.

A knock at the door brought Bella out of her thoughts and she glanced at the clock on her way to answer it. Pulling the door open she wasn't surprised to see Jessica and Lauren standing there, she had suspected it would be them on their way back from breakfast. She was surprised, however, to see angry glares on both of their faces. _What the hell?_

"Hey guys, what's going on?" Bella questioned apprehensively, knowing that this wasn't going to be pleasant.

"Care to explain this?" Jessica replied coldly, shoving a newspaper in her face. Bella glanced at the picture on the cover of the Entertainment section and her eyes widened as she visibly paled. It was a picture of her and Edward leaving the wedding chapel, hanging on to each other with huge smiles plastered on their faces. The picture didn't surprise her; she had been informed this morning about the amount of pictures already circulating around. What surprised her was the headline of the article, scrawled in huge print above the picture. **Meet the new Mrs. Cullen**: **Isabella Swan nabs superstar in Vegas**.

"What…How…They know my name!" _How the hell did they learn my name? _Bella was at a loss for words. It had been one thing to wake up married and have no immediate recollection of it, but at least then no one knew who she was, they only had her picture. Now they had her name, and her mind could barely begin to comprehend the ramifications of this latest development.

"Of course they know your name! Did you even bother to look at who wrote the article?" At Jessica's words Bella's eyes snapped back to the picture and focused on the small print directly beneath the headline. She cursed under her breath as eyes scanned across the name _Victoria Hunter_. Of course Victoria would be the one to inform the world who Edward's 'mystery bride' was.

Bella was an aspiring journalist slowly making a name for herself with the L.A. Daily News newspaper. She had interned there the last two years of college, and had immediately been offered a job as a fact checker as soon as she had graduated. She had slowly worked her way up in the ranks and now, at only 23, she had her very own column where she would critique and talk about new books. The fact that she had worked her way up so quickly was mostly due to the fact that her boss seemed to really like her, and that didn't sit too well with Victoria, his wife. James had always been kind to Bella and has greatly helped her advance her career, but she always was a bit creeped out by him, and hated his extra attention, especially since it gave Victoria plenty of reasons to try and make her life miserable, which Victoria did at every possible minute.

Shaking her head slightly in disgust after scanning the article (Victoria had painted her as a gold-digging slut to put it bluntly) Bella's brow creased slightly in confusion. She still couldn't understand why her friends seemed completely pissed off at her. Her answer came a moment later.

"Because of you we got fired!" Lauren growled, throwing a particularly nasty look at Bella.

"What the hell?" _Fired? How could this have gotten them fired?_

"Do you ever answer your phone or listen to your voice mail? James called this morning and informed us that because of this very public _incident_ he could not allow this kind of publicity surrounding the newspaper and he fired all of us."

"I got fired too?" Bella asked quickly, a feeling of dread slowly washing over her.

"You got fired first and then we got fired. Apparently the only reason James was keeping us around was because you had brought us in and he wanted to keep you happy. So now that you are fired we are too. Thanks a lot." This time it was Jessica who spoke and shot Bella a dirty look, before they both turned and marched out of my room. Bella stood there frozen in place, her eyes staring blankly at the now empty doorway. Her mind briefly registered the sound of slamming doors a little way down the hall but all she could think about was what her so-called friends had just told her.

She couldn't believe she had been fired! Especially over something that wasn't her fault! Ok, well it was partly her fault because she had drank so much, but how could a drunken Vegas wedding to Edward Cullen lead her to being fired? And that is when it really hit her: she had been fired! Her dream job was gone just like that. Ok so she didn't exactly dream of writing a literature column for an only relatively known newspaper, but she had dreamed of being a journalist for as long as she could remember. This job was supposed to be the springboard that launched her career, and now it was gone.

Bella slowly sank to the floor, the newspaper still clutched tightly in her hand as tears began to slowly cascade down her face. Ever since she had woken up this morning, the day had been a torrent of different emotions, and she had to process a lot of shocking information due to her wild night. It was all a little overwhelming, but Bella had always prided herself on being able to keep it together in stressful situations. Now, however, that her dream job had been ripped away from her, she couldn't keep it together any longer. Time ceased to mean anything to her as she curled up in the fetal position and slowly shed tears for everything that had been building since she first opened her eyes this morning. It could have been minutes or hours before someone found her, and when a pair of strong arms that were oddly familiar pulled her against a warm, hard chest, her sobs only intensified.

Edward was shocked to say the least when he found Bella curled up on the floor crying. He had been sent by Jasper and his sister to talk to her about how to best go about things once they got back to L.A. He briefly wondered where Bella was from, until another piece of the previous night came back to him, and was slightly relieved that he recalled her saying she currently lived in L.A. He couldn't imagine how difficult she would be if he had to suggest that she needed to come out to L.A. the next 60 days. At least now they could probably go on with their lives relatively normal, and only have to see each other when absolutely necessary. All of this had been running through her head as he searched for the room number that the front desk had provided him with. He was slightly alarmed when he saw her door was ajar, but that held nothing compared to the shock he felt when he saw what state she was in.

He instinctively rushed over to her and pulled her into is arms as he settled onto the floor, his back resting against the wall. Edward rocked her slowly and rubbed what he hoped to be soothing circles on her back. He had comforted Alice enough times over the years when she had cried to at least not be completely freaked out over the situation he found himself currently in. He was freaked out, however, by how much he found himself feeling pained by her tears. He quickly shook his head at that thought. _I just don't like to see pretty girls cry is all. _Yes, that was a much safer and more acceptable train of thought then where his overactive imagination was trying to lead him.

His attention focused back on Bella as he heard her sobs quieting, and the death grip she had on the front of his shirt loosening. A few moments later he heard her breathing even out, and Edward realized that she had cried herself to sleep. Readjusting her in his arms, he slowly rose to his feet and carried her over to her bed, laying her down gently and pulling the covers over her small body. He took a small step back to study her face, and for he first time since she fainted this morning, Edward saw her completely relaxed and peaceful. He smiled slightly at the sight. In his experience, Bella awake was anything but relaxed and peaceful.

Turning away from the bed to head out of her room, he saw a newspaper lying in the middle of the floor. He briefly recalled her clutching onto it before he had pulled her into his arms. Picking it up off of the floor, his eyes initially focused on the large picture at the front of the entertainment section. His brow creased slightly in confusion. _It's only a picture of us. She knew there were pictures so this can't be why she is so upset, can it? _His eyes slowly scanned the rest of the page, and he visibly paled when they flitted over the headline. Edward was beginning to understand why Bella was so upset when he walked in. It was one thing to have a drunken Vegas wedding to an internationally famous singer and to have pictures of it circulating around everywhere. It was another thing entirely to turn from the mystery woman that 'captured the elusive heart of Edward Cullen' into the real live Isabella Swan.

Cursing softly under his breath, Edward threw a glance at Bella before pulling out his cell phone and moving to the far corner of the room. He needed to speak to Emmett and Jasper immediately; if they knew her name then they probably knew a whole lot more about her and this latest development would definitely change how they has initially planned to go about the whole thing.

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For the third time that day, Bella slowly drifted back into consciousness with a pounding headache. Unlike the other two times however, she awoke in her own bed. Rubbing her hands against her dry and puffy eyes, Bella groaned in frustration as the memories of what had happened came flooding back. Luckily she had cried all of her tears, so remembering that she was now unemployed didn't cause her to break down again; she only felt frustration and disappointment at how her life had taken a complete 180, and it didn't seem to be for the better. She thought she was over the worst part of her life but that clearly didn't seem to be the case.

Sitting up and shaking her head before her thoughts could turn towards unpleasant memories, Bella was surprised to see Edward lounging in the reading chair in the corner of her room, clearly asleep with his head resting on his chest. She felt her cheeks warm in slight embarrassment as she remembered crying all over him earlier, but she was mostly confused as to why he was still there. He obviously had something to tell her or else he wouldn't have showed up at her room, but why he hadn't left and come back later when she was functioning was perplexing her to no end. Whatever the reason, she wouldn't figure it out as long as he was sleeping.

Taking a moment to study his sleeping form, Bella couldn't help the small smile that tugged at the corners of her lips. He looked so young and innocent when he slept, like a beautiful angel. Bella decided then that sleeping Edward was the only Edward she liked; when he was asleep she could at least pretend he wasn't a complete prick, and could admire his incredibly good looks without stroking his ego.

Deciding that she had stared at him long enough, Bella carefully climbed out of bed and made her way over to the sleeping Adonis mentally preparing herself for whatever sort of conversation they were about to have. Not paying any attention to where she was walking, Bella tripped over a stray shoe and went stumbling forward, straight into a sleeping Edward. His eyes flew open; the weight of another body pressed against his chest easily awakening him. Bella felt her face burn as she blushed in embarrassment, but as her eyes met his she found almost all coherent thoughts quickly leave her mind. Bella found herself getting lost in his eyes, and drowning in his intoxicating scent. She had never realized that anyone could smell as good as Edward currently was. Electricity pulsed through her body, and his large hands that were resting on her hips in his automatic reaction to steadying her seemed to burn her with their slight movements. Bella didn't understand the strong emotions that were suddenly coursing through her.

"I knew you would fall for me sooner or later, I just didn't realize it would be so literally." Edward's teasing voiced and arrogant smirk quickly snapped Bella out of her daze, and her eyes narrowed in annoyance.

"And I've heard the phrase 'hating someone with a fiery passion' many times before, but I never knew they meant that the person you hated literally set your body on fire with hate," she spat back, quickly placing her feet firmly on the floor and pushing off his chest so she could stand upright.

"And they say hating someone with a passion is only a step away from loving them with that same fiery passion," Edward quipped back, the smirk on his face growing more pronounced the more flustered he saw Bella become.

"Why exactly are you here?" Bella responded after a moment of mentally bashing Edward in her head. There were so many things she would love to say to him to knock him off his high horse, but her head was still hurting and she was completely drained form everything that had happened. Her need for some relaxation won over her desire to put him in his place.

"We have a lot to discuss to know that they know your name. Things are going to be different then what we initially discussed."

"How different?" Bella asked as calmly as possible as Edward nervously ran a hand through his bronze locks, glancing over at the alarm clock on the bedside table.

"Unfortunately I do not have time to explain fully at the moment considering we both slept away the rest of the morning and part of the afternoon. We are leaving in a few hours to head back to L.A. and you are coming with us."

"My flight isn't until tomorrow," Bella responded stubbornly, annoyed that he hadn't answered her previous question.

"I'm sorry for cutting your vacation short but you are leaving with us tonight," he replied, and upon seeing the indignant look on her face at his order he quickly added, "if you come back with us tonight you will get all your answers to how things are going to work for the next couple of months."

With a sigh, Bella agreed and left Edward to show his own way out as she began to pack. She couldn't help the feeling of trepidation that was slowly closing in on her as she began piling clothes into her suitcase. _California, here I come_, she thought grimly, for the first time in many years dreading to go home.

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A/N: Hello my lovelies and happy holidays! Sorry I didn't update sooner but I got bust with family and friends and LOTS of Christmas shopping. Hope everyone is having a great holiday season, and hopefully I'll update sometime next week. And remember, reviews are the best kind of Christmas present ;) well besides Edward Cullen, but he wasn't under my tree this morning :(


	3. Changes

Title: Last Name

Summary: A wild night in Vegas tangles the lives of two complete strangers. AU/AH

Rating: M

Beta: The lovely Eriks Dark Angel

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight, although I wouldn't mind owning Edward and the rest of the Cullen boys ;)

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**Changes**

_I'm feeling weak and weary walking through this world alone_

_Everything you say, every word of it, cuts me to the bone_

_I've got something to say, but now I've got no where to turn_

_It feels like I've been buried underneath all the weight of the world_

_I try to hold this under control_

_They can't help me 'Cause no one knows_

_Now I'm going through changes, changes_

_God, I feel so frustrated lately_

_When I get suffocated, save me_

_Now I'm going through changes, changes_

-"Changes" by 3 Doors Down

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Edward slid into the back of a sleek black town car with a soft sigh. His gaze lingered on the window, taking in even the most trivial details of the world beyond his temporary prison. He was acutely aware of Bella's presence in the seat across from him; the tension in the air was tangible. He groaned inwardly as the car started to pull away from the curb, but he stubbornly kept his eyes glued to the window. He had to gather his thoughts and compose himself as much as possible for the impending conversation; it would be difficulty simply based on what he had to ask, actually more like demand, of Bella and he really was not in the mood for one of their verbal sparring matches, no matter how much he seemed to enjoy them on some levels. His eyes flicked briefly over her small frame, curled up in a defensive posture, as she fidgeted slightly in her seat. Either from nervousness or from the growing discomfort that his silence had created, Edward did not know or bother trying to figure out. Why he was so aware of her every move was also another path he refused to let his mind wander down. He was not interested in some introspection and trying to make more of the situation than it was. He was aware of her every move simply because she was a live wire and he did not want to be burned. Right?

He noticed Bella shift again in her seat and he felt her eyes boring into him, waiting for him to divulge the details of why things had to change even more in both of their lives. _Hers more than mine_ he thought, as a wave of guilt washed through him. While Edward knew that the situation was not completely his fault, he still couldn't help but feel guilty that Bella's life would change dramatically for the next few months all because he was in the public eye. If he was just a normal guy, they could easily go their separate ways and only have to see each other again to sign the annulment papers.

With a soft sigh, Edward slowly tore his eyes away from the window and focused them on Bella, deciding that he had wasted enough time avoiding the conversation and he wanted to get it over with before they met up with everybody on the chartered plane ride home. Keeping in mind that Alice had threatened him with bodily harm if he didn't 'act like an actual human being and try and be nice to her and sympathize with her situation,' Edward carefully rearranged his features into a smooth, apologetic mask as he began to speak with as much sincerity in his voice as he could possibly could. He silently thanked God that he had had a few years of faking emotions in front of the press and public, and desperately hoped Bella wouldn't see through is falsity.

"Bella," he began gently waiting until she turned to face him to continue, desperately trying to ignore the look of resignation marring her angelic features, "I would first like to apologize that my situation in life is making this extremely difficult for you, and for all the complications it is continuing to cause."

He was about to inwardly congratulate himself on his eloquent apologizing skills when he saw a small frown form creases between her eyes as she turned to gaze out the window once again. A small flash of panic shot through his system followed by a small wave of guilt at his falsity as he realized she probably saw through it, and he waited with baited breath for her to call him on it. After a few moments of silence, Bella slowly turned her face back towards his, her deep brown eyes meeting his in an expectant gaze. Realizing that he needed to continue, Edward thought of Alice's threat one more time before launching into the explanation.

"Now that the press knows who you are, it is going to be harder to keep them away from you. They probably already know where you live and work and paparazzi are probably already staking out the best places to capture photos of you doing anything and everything. I know you are going to hate what I have to say next but it's in everyone's best interest if you were to temporarily move in with me. It will be a lot safer for you because of all the security around my house, and it would corroborate the story Jasper has given to the press. We haven't figured out what to do about your work situation, especially since I don't even know your profession, but do you have any suggestions?"

Edward finished with what he hoped was a concerned/hopeful expression on his face, and waited tensely for Bella to respond. He knew she was going to hate the idea of having to live with him, especially after only a few hours earlier he, along with the rest of his friends/family, assured her that her life wouldn't be changing all that much. Originally he and Bella would go their separate ways and they both would just keep a pretty low profile until they could get the annulment. He and Bella would only have to see each other on a few occasions in the public eye to keep the press sated, and then there would be the staged break up and then they both would be free to go their own ways. Now they would be forced together every day of the next two months and he was dreading that with every fiber of his being. Although if that was true then why did he feel a stirring of excitement at that prospect deep within? He quickly shook his head at that thought. He was not excited about this; he hated Bella! She was uptight and bitchy and made his blood boil with every look and every word uttered through her full lips. He was definitely not the least bit happy or excited about this!

Bella, meanwhile, was waging an internal war of her own, much like she had for the greater part of the day. She had been silent for quite awhile now, trying to sort through the multitude of thoughts and emotions assaulting her from every angle. She had refused to speak to Edward, even in greeting, when she had met up with him in the lobby of the hotel and was glad when he seemed just as unwilling to speak with her as they climbed into the town car. At first she had been awed at how comfortable and luxurious the interior of the car was; from the outside it looked like a normal Mercedes or BMW or another of those more luxurious brands of car. But her awe quickly switched to annoyance, and she bitterly thought about how lavishly the rich and fortunate live. Forcing herself to look out the window, she tried desperately to calm all of her emotions. She knew this was not going to be a fun conversation and she was emotionally exhausted and really not in the mood for another verbal sparring match with Edward.

Her anger flared up again however when she detected the false sincerity in his voice when he finally began to speak. _The pig doesn't even have the decency to feel the least bit of remorse for this whole ordeal_, she thought as a frown creased her brow. Bella knew that this whole thing wasn't Edward's fault, but she did know that if their positions were reversed she _would_ feel guilty for upsetting his life, hell she was just and ordinary girl and she _did_ feel at least a little bit guilty for the trouble she was causing him. Ok well maybe she didn't feel guilty for disrupting _his_ precious life, but she was sorry for all the trouble she was causing his friends and family as they worked to preserve his image. After all, how could she feel guilty about troubling the life of the man she hated with a fiery passion? She should be rejoicing over the fact that she was a complication in his life and an ever-present thorn in his side.

Dragging herself out of her slightly more cheerful thoughts, Bella turned her attention back towards Edward as he continued to speak. She felt her small shred of happiness evaporate the minute he mentioned her having to go live with him, and her mood spiraled farther down into the pits of despair as he mentioned her job. She had almost completely forgotten that she was now unemployed, and that thought pained her once again, especially as the memories of how that news was delivered to her came back to her once more. She had lost her job and two closest friends all in the span of ten minutes. Granted she had never been completely attached to Jessica and Lauren and would sometimes question herself on why she was friends with two shallow, and sometimes mean, women. But Bella had known them for years, and usually they all got along great. Now she didn't even know if they really were ever friends or if Jessica and Lauren had just been using her to help advance themselves in life.

"Bella?" his musical voice broke her out of her thoughts, and when her eyes flashed to meet his brilliant jade ones she was shocked to see them filled with… concern? It was then that she realized that a few tears had rolled down her cheeks during her melancholy reflection. Quickly swiping the back of her hands across her face, Bella inhaled shakily and tried to compose her thoughts. _No need to be in tears for the second time today in front of Edward_, she chastised herself, not wanting Edward to see her as one of those women who cry over every little thing because they are incapable of coping with their emotions in other, more productive ways.

Turning her eyes back to his, she saw the same emotion she labeled as concern underneath his questioning gaze, and immediately berated herself once more. _I'm making him uncomfortable with my tears. I should have seen that right away and not have mistaken it for concern. Discomfort is the only logical explanation for that look!_ Bella gave an infinitesimal shake of her head, trying to clear it of all unwanted trains of thoughts so she could give her full attention to what she wanted to say, and how much she wanted to divulge to this man, practically a stranger, in front of her. How much could she reveal without looking like the failure and disgrace she felt she was. How much did he even need to know and what parts or her recently tumultuous life were a necessity for her to reveal? Bella could barely sort through the millions of questions running rampant through her mind, let alone concentrate enough to answer them. At the back of her mind she realized that she and Edward had been sitting in silence for quite some time and he was still staring at her with a questioning gaze. She felt compelled to speak, to say something, anything, and this compulsion seemed to disconnect her brain from her tongue.

"I've been fired," she blurted out before she could stop herself or contemplate a better way to phrase it. Her eyes instantly widened at her blunt delivery and her face flushed with embarrassment at her current unemployment. She quickly averted her eyes and went back to gazing out her window, unable to hold his gaze after her revelation.

Edward was at a loss of what to do or say, something that had been happening to him a lot since he woke up this morning. Normally he was the king of cool and suave and always had a witty remark or the perfect line to deliver in a smooth, even tone, but today it seemed as if his collected façade had cracked wide open and he only had flashes of his old wittiness as it crumbled around him. In this situation, his mind was failing to come up with any sort of response that would lighten to atmosphere and hopefully elicit a smile from Bella. It was not lost upon Edward that something bigger than their drunken wedding and life style changes were affecting her. Hell hadn't he walked in on her having a breakdown only a few hours before? He still had yet to receive an explanation on that, and then an idea sprung to life in the recesses of his mind.

"Is that what made you so upset this afternoon?" he asked as gently as possible, desperately wondering if that had been what set her into hysterics. At her small almost imperceptible, nod Edward sighed inwardly, his mind desperately trying to come up with something to say. He wasn't exactly sure how he was supposed to deal with this situation or what he was supposed to do. Luckily for him, the car slowed to a stop on the private airfield and a minute later the door was opened for them. Climbing out of the car, he nodded slightly at his sister and moved towards the open door of the private jet, hoping that Alice would know what to do in regards to Bella.

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Edward fidgeted uncomfortably in his seat, his sparkling green eyes flickering towards the brunette curled up in the farthest seat from him in the small private jet. He knew his current discomfort had everything to do with what awaited him when they landed in a few minutes; after all it was inconceivably impossible for the source of his discomfort to come from his luxurious surroundings.

Bella had drifted off into a seemingly peaceful sleep about ten minutes into their short flight, approximately eight and a half minutes after she assured Alice that she did not feel like talking and that she just wanted to be left alone for the time being. Alice looked slightly hurt by Bella's dismissal as she headed to her seat next to Jasper, but Edward had heard the exchange and knew that Bella had been very polite towards the little pixie and that Alice's hurt feelings were purely because Bella had spurned her advances at making a new friend. Edward knew that Alice would not be dissuaded from befriending Bella, especially not after he explained the state he found her in earlier and the information he learned in the car.

"Poor kid," Emmett said softly, throwing a sympathetic glance towards the sleeping woman. Everyone nodded their heads in agreement except for Rosalie who scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"So she lost her job. People lose their jobs every day and they don't have a complete emotional breakdown over it. She needs to get over herself and learn how to deal with things like an adult." Anger immediately coursed through Edward at Rosalie's words, but he was far too enraged to wonder where it was coming from.

"You need to get over _yourself_," he growled out before he could contemplate what he was saying. Rosalie seemed taken aback by his incensed tone and sharp remark, but was too bewildered with his unreasonable, in her opinion, anger to say anything, which just encourage Edward to continue.

"She has been through quite a bit today and I have a feeling that there is more to all of this then her just being fired. She seems way to put together to let something like a drunken wedding and being fired turn her into an emotional wreck. I would love to see how emotionally unstable you would be if something like this happened to you. God knows you already flip a bitch if you gain a pound," Edward finished with a sneer but almost immediately felt a little guilty. He knew the pressure on Rosalie as a supermodel was intense, and he knew she already took enough crap for maintaining the weight and figure she did.

Rosalie flat out refused to look unhealthily skinny and instead advocated for a more natural and healthy look. Many designers and magazines admired her and supported the growing trend of healthy looking models, but many still gave her and the models like her a lot of flack. While Edward admired her tenacity and agreed that healthy was what was hot (even he could admit that Rosalie had an incredible body to go with her gorgeous face) he also knew that remarks from the press and public could hurt. Hadn't he caved numerous times to the pressures of the media and public? Wasn't his desire to please everyone one of the things that had launched him into this downward spiral of alcohol and women and general unhappiness with how his life and career were going?

"Stepping into the role of husband already are we Eddie? Not married a full twenty-four hours and you are already defending your wife's honor," Rosalie bit back scathingly. Edward flinched at her tone and use of his much hated nickname and threw a murderous glare in her direction, completely offended by her statement. He really wanted to shout 'am not' and stick his tongue out at her but he knew how petulant and childish that would make him look so he opted to leave it with the death glare.

Feeling the plane begin its final descent into L.A, Edward turned his attention from his brother's girlfriend and let his eyes wander freely about the cabin. Emmett was still staring intently out the window like he had the moment Edward and Rosalie had started their little spat, desperately not wanting to be involved in an argument between his brother and his lover. Having to choose sides in a fight like that was a lose-lose situation so he always avoided immersing himself in the argument whenever he could. Edward's eyes met Alice's piercing blue ones for a moment as his gaze traveled over where she was sitting next to a serene looking Jasper. The wide smile and knowing look in her eyes unsettled him to no end. Why Alice was looking like the cat that just swallowed the canary was beyond him, and he definitely lacked the energy to try and determine what was running through his sister's mind once more. That look usually never meant anything good.

The plane touched down gently, the slight bump jarring him from his thoughts. His wandering eyes once again swept over the sleeping form of Bella as they taxied slowly off the runway, and he was surprised to see that she was still asleep. He was sure that she landing would have woken her, but he then surmised that she was either very exhausted (emotionally and physically) or that she was a very deep sleeper. Neither of those scenarios boded well for him at the moment because they both resulted in a still sleeping Bella whom somebody would be obliged to wake. He knew that someone would be him; his friends and family had made it clear that Bella was his responsibility. That's not to say that they were going to leave him completely alone with her. They were all curious, well except for maybe Rosalie, to get to know her and Alice especially was dying to befriend her.

Edward sighed softly as the plane finally came to a stop and his siblings and their significant others rose to their feet. A few hugs and handshakes goodbye passed between them along with a promise from Alice that she would stop by to keep Bella company when he had to head into a meeting with his record label the following afternoon, and then he was alone with her once more. Running a hand tiredly through his hair, he slowly made his way over to where she was sleeping, taking measured steps the whole way as he argued with himself over the best ways to wake her up. Stopping next to her seat he called out her name softly, then louder when she didn't stir at his initial attempt. When that failed he tentatively reached out and shook her shoulder gently, finally rousing her from her slumber after a few moments.

Bella opened her eyes slowly and was immediately met by the sight of Edward staring down at her with an apprehensive and tentative look on his face. Yawning quietly her mind quickly deduced that they must be in L.A. and she immediately rose to her feet and stretched slightly before following Edward off of the plane and towards a shiny silver Volvo. She briefly wondered why someone of his stature didn't drive a flashier car until she slipped into her seat and noticed the luxurious interior. It may not have been as flashy on the outside as some of the cars he could easily afford, but this car was obviously a luxury car.

Edward slipped into the car and an uncomfortable silence settled between them immediately. Bella could tell that he wanted to say something, but he wasn't sure how to preface it. Out of the corner of her eye she could see him open and close his mouth several times, but he never was able to actually formulate his thoughts and articulate them. He sighed in seeming defeat and slid the keys into the ignition and the engine came quietly to life. Above the soft purr of the engine, strains of gentle music flowed from Edward's impressive sound system. It took Bella only a few seconds to recognize the tune and she gasped in surprise.

"Claire de Lune?" she questioned quickly, amazed that someone like him listened to classical music.

"You know Debussy?" he shot back, equal amazement evident in his voice.

"My mom used to listen to classical music all the time when I was younger, and my favorites stuck with me," Bella answered with a hint of sadness tainting her voice. "I didn't think someone like you knew classical music," she added before Edward could dwell on her previous statement.

"I'm a little offended by that remark! I _am_ a musician you know," he defended himself quickly

"Yes, you are," she conceded, "but I wasn't aware that international _pop_ stars were familiar with classical music or held an appreciation for it."

"The differences in what I perform and my personal preferences all come down to public expectations and desires," he replied softly and Bella immediately detected the slight bitterness and sadness in his tone. Risking a glance in his direction she saw the anguish in his eyes, even if his face was an impassive mask.

"Alice suggested to me that I run you by your home so you can get some clean clothes. She also offered to go back with you tomorrow so you can pack up anything you would like to have with you for the next few months." His quick change of subject was not lost on Bella but she decided not to push the issue further even though her curiosity was piqued. Was it possible that there was a lot more to Edward Cullen than meets the eye?

"Ok, I live in an apartment in Woodland Hills."

"I know the area. I have a house in Malibu so it's not too far." With that final comment, Edward pulled out of the airfield and headed in the direction previously stated by his companion.

The ride was passed in silence only broken by the classical music playing softly in the background. Several times Bella snuck a glance over at Edward, and more than once there eyes met as he was sneaking his own glances at her. Every time she got caught, a light blush lit up her pale features, but for some strange reason she wasn't deterred from continuing trying to study him. A curious person by nature, Edward's slightly cryptic admission earlier had piqued her curiosity and it was only growing with each passing second. Edward, however, now appeared to be the one not interested in talking, and he spent the ride staring straight ahead, tight-lipped and a slightly grim expression marring his well crafted face. The only time his eyes deviated from the road was when he sparred a quick glance at Bella, mainly in response to the repeated feeling of her eyes on him. The silence that settled between them wasn't uncomfortable for once, but it seemed unbreakable, and neither dared to try.

They made it to Bella's apartment complex in record time, and Bella made a mental note to request that Edward slow down on the way to his house. It had not been lost on her that he had been driving well over the speed limit the entire way, and she was not comfortable with his reckless driving in the least. Directing him in the parking spot normally occupied by Jessica's car, Bella was suddenly grateful that she had left Vegas a night early and didn't have to worry about another unpleasant encounter with her angry friends. She was content with avoiding Jessica and Lauren until they had calmed down and come to their senses.

As Edward smoothly pulled into the parking space and killed the engine, Bella was instantly unsure if she wanted to invite him into her apartment or not. Edward broke the silence, however, before she could give it too much thought.

"Would you like me to come in, or stay here, or give you directions to my house and you can drive there yourself?"

"Well I guess it would be nice if I had help carrying some stuff," Bella answered in a neutral tone and they both climbed out of the car, "and I don't have a car at the moment," she added, although she wasn't quite sure why; it wasn't exactly an important fact since it didn't seem like she would be able to go many places on her own now that the press and public knew who she was, and she wasn't sure if she wanted to be alone only to find herself cornered by paparazzi.

Edward followed her into her apartment, slowly trailing behind her as she flipped on lights and headed into her bedroom. He stopped at the threshold of her room, unsure of whether he should enter or not. He didn't want to make this situation any more uncomfortable than it already was, so he opted to lean casually in the doorway and let his eyes wander about her room. Edward noticed that her room was pretty neat and tidy and that the only things that didn't seem in order were the numerous books strewn about the room. His wandering eyes skimmed over Bella a few times as she bustled about her room, throwing clothes from her dresser and closet haphazardly into her luggage set. Edward smiled slightly as he pictured the shock on his sister's face if she were to see how Bella was packing. He knew she was just trying to be as quick as possible, and that the clothes wouldn't be in the suitcases for very long, but he knew Alice would still have a heart attack. Even after all these years of living with her, and the past few years of his stardom, he still didn't understand how anyone could be that obsessed with clothes.

A small thud and a muttered string of profanities snapped Edward out of his internal musings and his attention was turned to a Bella picking herself up off the floor. It appeared as if she had tripped over a stray article of clothing that had fallen from the pile on her way from her closet to her suitcases, and it took everything in Edward to suppress the chuckle he felt rising in his throat at the indignant expression on Bella's face. He couldn't tell if she was more incensed over her apparent clumsiness or if she was actually angry at the article of clothing; she was glaring at it as she snatched it up and shoved it into her suitcase as if it had really offended her. Luckily he was able to suppress his urge to laugh at her mishap, because she looked as if she was about to kill something for approximately five minutes after the incident, and Bella was grateful Edward didn't comment or worse laugh at her mishap. She had already tripped around him once that day and that hadn't ended very well.

Placing the last few things into her suitcases, she zipped them up and indicated for Edward to come help her carry them out to his car. On the way out of her apartment she noticed that the light on the answering machine was flashing. Telling Edward to hold on for a second, she pressed play assuming it was just the landlord with information about an upcoming tenants meeting or something equally unimportant as that; all the important calls always went to her or Jessica's cell phones and very few people had the number to their landline. The minute the message started playing, all the color drained from her face and she instantly regretted stopping Edward as her father's voice echoed throughout the silent apartment.

"Isabella Marie Swan! Why haven't you answered your phone or returned any of my calls? First I find out from Billy that you have broken up with Jacob, and then it is all over town that you married some famous singer last night. You ungrateful whore! How do you get off thinking you can treat Jacob like that? The poor boy is heartbroken and you are off being the world's biggest slut! And after everything Billy and him did for you! You are lucky Jacob even dated you let alone proposed to you, you ungrateful, worthless child! Did your idiotic self learn nothing living under my roof? I want answers young lady so you better call me back!"

The message ended with a beep and silence descended once again. Edward's eyes were fixed on Bella as his mind moved at almost impossible speeds trying to process what had just happened and the emotions he was feeling. Bella was frozen in place; her eyes fixed unblinkingly on the little black machine were glazed over. Edward took a small step forward and softly called out her name only to receive no response. He took another step forward and reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder and that seemed to break the spell. Her eyes immediately snapped to his and she inhaled a deep, shaky breath. Shrugging her shoulders at his intense, questioning gaze, she stepped to the side and quickly hurried past him out to his car.

Edward quickly followed her, calling out her name, but after she viciously snarled at him to leave her alone and that she didn't want to talk about it, he fell silent and quickly loaded her suitcases into the trunk of his car. The car ride to his house passed in an uncomfortable silence, and continued all the way into his house until he quietly told Bella he would show her to the room she would be staying in. Alice and Jasper had stopped by his house while he was taking Bella to her apartment in order to prepare one of the guestrooms for her use. Leading Bella up the stairs and down the hall he began to grow wary of his sister's intentions when he saw that the guestroom that was situated right next to his bedroom was the one that Alice had quickly fixed up for Bella. Logically it was the best choice seeing as it was the largest and most comfortable out of all the bedrooms besides his own bedroom, but he didn't think that was the main factor behind Alice's decision.

Flipping on the light he walked into the room and placed the bags he was carrying at the foot of the bed before turning to face Bella. She was standing just inside the room, her eyes uninterestedly surveying the space around her. The vacant look in her eyes bothered Edward and unnerved him in ways he couldn't explain. He had no idea what was going on in her life, or why her father (he assumed as much) had left such a message for her but he was determined to find out. He had let too many things slide by today in his weariness, and he wasn't about to let that happen again.

"Bella," he stated firmly and was rewarded with eye contact, "you really should talk about what just happened, and why you were fired, and anything else going on in your life."

"Why?" she spat back, her expression instantly angry once more. "Why should I talk about any of this with _you_? Do you really want to hear how fucked up my life is at the moment. Do you really want to hear that I was in Vegas because my friends decided I needed a week away after walking in on my fiancé of the last five years screwing some blonde bimbo from his work? And then I go and get shit-faced drunk and wake up married to an egotistical, womanizing pig that just happens to be a famous singer. Said incident then leads to me being fired because it brought negative attention to the newspaper that I was a writer for. And this lovely piece of information was delivered to me by the two people I considered to be my best friends, one of which I live with, and they were completely pissed off at me because they had been fired too, and it was all my fault like everything always is. Do you really want to know how horrible my home life has been ever since my mother abandoned my father and I when I was 10, or how since that night nothing I have done has ever been good enough for him? Or the years of him telling me that I was the reason my mother left?" She paused there to suck in a few deep breathes to calm herself; she had worked herself very near the point of hysterics. "But I am the reason she left," Bella continued despondently in a low voice, "she left because I wasn't good enough for her to stay, just like I haven't been good enough my whole life. Not good enough for Jacob, or to keep my job or friends. I'm completely worthless, and completely alone." She tried to choke back a sob after her last words but her resolve not to cry again finally crumbled.

Edward had remained silent during her whole rant; instinct telling him to just let her speak. Throughout her angry tirade he felt his heart break for the poor girl in front of him and then instantly fill with a compassion he hadn't felt since…He instantly refocused his thoughts and attention back onto Bella; no need for both of them to sink into their darkest places. Walking forward he tentatively enveloped her into a hug, just as her legs gave out from under her. For the second time that day, she collapsed in his arms and Edward immediately scooped her up and carried her over to the bed as she continued to cry. Setting her down on the soft mattress, he immediately kicked off his shoes and crawled onto the bed from the other side; he had no intention of leaving her alone when she was like this. Leaning against the headboard, he pulled her small frame into his arms and rubbed small circles on her back until she cried herself to sleep. Slipping off the bed, he removed her shoes before pulling the covers over her. He paused at the door and turned for one final glance at the woman who had unexpectedly been thrust into his life, a torrent of emotions racing through him.

"You're not alone," he whispered before flicking off the light and pulling the door closed behind him. He had no idea what the next morning would bring, or the next day, or week, but he did know that he was determined to help the beautiful brunette sleeping in the room adjacent to his get through this huge rough patch in her life. For the first time in a long time, Edward felt as if he had a purpose in this life and he drifted off to sleep for the first time in a long time thoroughly excited for the next day.

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A/N: Hello by fantastic readers! It been a while I know, but I have a pretty demanding course load this semester and after I get done writing for my creative writing classes I always feel drained of creativity. I finally got this chapter together and I hope you all enjoy reading it. Please review and let me know what you think; I am open to any and all comments/suggestions/ideas. Plus, whenever I need an inspiration boost, I go back and re-read the reviews you guys have left me and it really gets my ass in gear ;)


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